Synopsis: Balsa narrates to Chagum how Jiguro saved her life.

Kanbal is a small country that lies on the other side of the Aogiri. According to Balsa, even in such a place, people constantly want to create conflict. Unlike Yogo, Kanbal has no rice fields nor fertile farmlands. The land is extremely mountainous with rocky pastures and the people make their living by tilling the poor soil, growing a small amount of grains and tubers, and by grazing goats.

Balsa’s father, Kalna Yonsa, was the royal physician. Her mother died when she was five but because of her father, she led a happy, carefree life. His father became caught in a dangerous position and since she was so young at that time, had no way of knowing.

Rogsam, the King’s brother had blackmailed his father into using poison to assassinate the King. He threatened to kill her if he refused so his father had no choice but to agree.

Balsa’s father had one friend that he trusted. That friend was Jiguro. He was a King’s Spear, one of the nine warriors who served only the King. They were composed of elite spear-wielders who were also the leaders of Kanbal’s nine tribes. Jiguro was said to be Kanbal’s best warrior and the youngest ever to be chosen.

Although his father didn’t want his best friend to be involved in a horrifying plot, he decided nevertheless to tell him about Rogsam’s scheme. He asked Jiguro to take care of Balsa and escape. Jiguro first refused her father’s request because accepting it would mean losing his status and honor. It would mean his destruction as well.

One day, soldiers from the court came to Balsa’s house. It seemed Rogsam discerned her father’s intentions. But Jiguro came and took Balsa with him. He told Balsa that he refused her father’s request at first but he took her had and they left their homeland.

Balsa says that if Jiguro had not come then, she would have been killed. They spent a day going through a long cave that began on the Kanbal border then eventually set foot on the New Yogo empire.

Five days after their escape, the first assassin came. He was a Spear. Balsa didn’t think he was an assassin because he and Jiguro were talking calmly. Jiguro asked the man if Rogsam sent him. Jiguro said that Rogsam is self-serving. The man agreed but he said that thanks to it, he had the oppurtunity to fulfill a dream that he had for a long time. He said that he was dissatisfied with the fact that he could no longer challenge Jiguro after he attained the highest rank among the Spears. The man attacked Jiguro but Jiguro turned around and hit him. Jiguro apologized to the man. Since he can no longer return to Kanbal, he cannot return his body to their homeland.

At that time, Balsa could tell that Jiguro wasn’t trying to avoid fighting. She thought that perhaps he was just testing his abilities but it could have also been her wishful thinking that the fight had nothing to do with her. She realized then that her situation was more dire than she previously imagined and that the only way to survive was to go with him.

Jiguro and Balsa then went to a Yogo city to have a new spear-blade forged. The swordsmith was also stubborn then and he initially refused. Jiguro told him that if possible, he would like to avoid killing anyone in the future but he has no idea how many must he kill. The swordsmith eventually agreed and told Jiguro to return in seven days.

Then, the second assassin came. His name was Tagul. Jiguro asked him what Rogsam ordered him but he did not reply. Jiguro realized that he had taken a vow of deafness and silence. Jiguro knew that Tagul disliked combat but he thought that his wife and child must be taken hostage. The two fought. This was the scene that Balsa remembered when she lay almost dying in the forest floor after fighting the Emperor’s warriors.

Jiguro defeated him. The man, with his last breath, told Jiguro that he now has something to protect too. Jiguro cried after that. Balsa realized later on that the second assassin Rogsam sent was Jiguro’s closest friend among the Spears.

During their brief stay in the Yogo city, they learned from a migrant worker from Kanbal that Balsa’s father has been killed. Balsa cried for the first time since she left Kanbal because she believed that she would still be able to see her father again. Jiguro told her why her father had been killed and why she must flee with him.

It was then that Balsa asked Jiguro to teach her martial arts but Jiguro said no because martial arts are for men and a woman’s muscle strength is inferior to men’s and besides, she was a child.

Balsa didn’t give up. From then on, she spied on Jiguro’s practice sessions whenever she could and tried to learn how to use the spear.

Jiguro began working as a guard for a caravan. It accomplished three things at once: first, they could make a living using Jiguro’s skills; the second was that Balsa was continuosly exposed to Jiguro’s skills in actual combat; and third, they were able to quickly obtain information about their pursuers.

One time, while Jiguro and the caravan workers were resting, Balsa demonstrated what she learned about spear-wielding. She copied exactly what Jiguro did. She was even able to let go of the spear, turn around and catch it, then thrust it forward. Jiguro approached Balsa and slapped her. He told Balsa never to do it again. Still, I think at a young age, Balsa’s good as she even managed to copy how Jiguro fights.

Balsa didn’t know why she did it though. Perhaps she wanted to help Jiguro. Perhaps she wanted to cause him some trouble too since he never told her anything. Shortly after that, Jiguro began teaching her martial arts. He must’ve been impressed by her “performance” but there must be a different reason.

Balsa now had a real spear for practice. Torogai came and told Jiguro that she thought Jiguro didn’t want the girl to live a life full of bloodshed. Jiguro told her that though it is true a martial artist attracts more and more opponents as their skill increases, for Balsa, unfortunately, that was the only path available to her.

By then, Jiguro must have heard that the remaining Spears had joined forces to hunt them. Jiguro began teaching Balsa martial arts so that in case he died, she could still survive. Still, Jiguro was careful. He hoped to avoid killing his former comrades if possible so he didn’t work openly as a bodyguard. They lived up in the Yogo mountains until he ran out of money.

They have managed to elude the Spears for ten years. They were able to have a fun but dangerous life. The remaining Spears, however, found them.

On their way back from finishing a big job, the six Spears came, Jiguro told Balsa to hide. She didn’t want to because she thought that she would be able to help Jiguro a little but when the six appeared, she couldn’t do anything.

Jiguro told the attackers to stop but they wouldn’t heed. Jiguro had to fight them. He had decided to avoid Balsa’s hands getting soiled by senseless killing.

Anyway, Balsa’s past is finally revealed. Balsa protecting Chagum parallels Jiguro protecting her. I love Chagum’s reactions when Balsa told him that that only way to survive was to go with Jiguro. In the same way, the only way for Chagum to survive is to go with Balsa. Also, when Balsa said that perhaps she wanted to cause Jiguro some trouble since he hasn’t told him anything, Chagum was affected by this. He was mad with Balsa, afterall, for not telling him anything about his fate.